Salade de carottes rapees

If I had to compile a list of the top five National Dishes of France, right up there would be carottes râpées, or grated carrot salad. And it’s everywhere. You’ll find it on many café and bistro menus, charcuteries sell it by the kilo, and even mega-supermarkets add a few extra ingredients for ‘safekeeping’ and sell it packed up in rectangular plastic containers, ready to go.

Which, I probably don’t need to add, should be avoided at all costs.

If you order salade de carottes râpée in a restaurant, you’ll just get a pile of carrots with a wedge of lemon on the side. My frugal grandmother would’ve flipped; “Why order something you can make at home?” she’d say to me if I ordered something like, say…a nice-looking fruit salad in a restaurant.

I don’t know the answer to that.

But I do know sometimes there’s nothing more satisfying than a simple pile of grated raw carrots, lightly dressed. And it’s usually the least expensive item on the menu, so grandma can easily rest in peace.

I resist the urge to add things to it, although if you’re itching to modify the recipe, you could grate in another raw vegetable, such as beets, slivers of avocado, another legume cru, or top it with a flurry of crumbled feta. This is a great recipe to make when you have nothing on hand but a few carrots, which you can mix with regular pantry items. Unlike a lettuce salad, I find the crunchy carrots always filling and satisfying.

Parisians don’t eat too many vegetables raw, with the exception of shredded carrots and celery root. A friend of mine’s boyfriend is very French*, and she said he refuses to eat any vegetable unless it’s cooked, except carrots. And only if they’re grated.

But I guess I’m becoming one of them—in spite of my inability to master the conjugation of French verbs—because I, too, have developed a bit of an aversion to the half-cooked green beans that are sometimes referred to around here as “California-style.”

This dish has all the things one doesn’t necessarily associate with French food: it’s portable enough to take on a picnic or road trip, it’s a snap to put together in just a few minutes, and best of all, it’s healthy. What’s not to like about it?

And if I do say so, my partner Romain makes the best carottes râpées I’ve ever had. Of course, he doesn’t follow a recipe: he mixes, tastes, adds more of something, then tastes again.

And as a recipe writer, I love the fact that French cooks and published recipes sometimes call for vague quantities of things. It’s something that would drive any measure-happy cook insane. In French recipes, a teaspoon is called une cuillère à café (a coffee spoon) and a tablespoon is une cuillère à soupe (a soup spoon.)**

The most important thing to a good bowl of carottes râpées is the size of les carottes. “Daveed, it is very important to grate the carrots très fines!“, which his mother, who was standing right behind him in the kitchen, said, “Oui! Oui!…c’est très importante!”

Make a dressing by mixing together the juice of two lemons, 2 to 3 soup spoons of olive oil, 1 coffee spoons of sugar (avery scant teaspoon), some salt, and freshly ground pepper. You can use a French juice glass with cartoon characters on it, if you want to be truly authentic.

Personally, I would add a dab of Dijon mustard, but have learned not to interfere when Romain is telling me something. I just nod, and let him keep going since I’ve learned that when Parisians are speaking, it’s best to just let them keep going. If you do ever if you do manage to get a word in, they won’t listen until they’re done anyways, so why even bother. Especially one in particular…

Toss the dressing with the carrots really well, then taste. If you have a fork, great.
If not, don’t be afraid to use your fingers.

Mais oui!

Adjust the seasonings at this point.

The carrots may need another hit of lemon or salt or olive oil. Don’t overdress the salad; the carrots should be moistened and glistening, not swimming in dressing.

Eh…voilà!

Once mixed, serve the carrot salad shortly thereafter. This feeds six to eight people as a side dish. If you want to make this advance, prepare the carrots and dressing separately, and mix together as close to serving time as possible.

74 comments

lovely! i make the indian version – i add a couple of petals of garlic and cumin seeds heated in some oil to grated carrots mixed with lime juice, salt and coriander.
of course i’ll try this version too. i love the fresh taste of grated carrots.
and i love you for not liking ‘al dente’ pasta.
:-)

hahaha, that’s so true, grated carrots are way better eaten with fingers :)

In the north of France, we also put them in sandwiches, and i love to accomidate them as an entrée them with some kind of sweet dressing: lemon juice, olive oil, some dijon mustard (a small coffee spoon), a dab of honey. Then in the salad I add some Cerneaux De Noix De Grenoble and currants. I serve this sur des feuilles d’endive . It’s really delicious with fresh, crunchy, tasty carrots finely grated.

tom

July 31, 2008 6:34am

Yum….I truly miss those carottes in France….but even more so, I miss the celery root dish. I have never been able to find a decent one in the US, and I have no idea if the root itself is actually different, or is it because the French have prepared them for so long, they are used to making them taste better? I dunno…but celery root is my fav.

As for the seared tuna/al dente pasta issue, my problem is that too many places in the US just never get it right…either the tuna is raw or overcooked (even when ordered “seared”), or what is allegedly “al dente” pasta is basically raw and uncooked in the center of the noodle…not a pleasant taste sensation at all when you bite into it.

Not surprisingly, the Italians get it right…al dente means the pasta has a little resistance to it when you bite in, not raw/uncooked, and not limp/overcooked like a dead worm, either.

Ah….thank you! I am working on culling recipe ideas for my Everyday French week with the 11+ crew and we’ve already done so many of the staples….I was thinking of making these and possibly concombres as well so this is rather timely. They look great.

my french friend taught this to me, and i love it with shredded beets and mustard vinaigrette. keep the beets and carrots separate until the last minute or else the whole thing’ll be red, and it won’t look as pretty.

Janet

July 31, 2008 7:17am

cuill “è” re Daveeed, cuill-è-re please…
cuillère!

Adele

July 31, 2008 8:47am

My French uncle used to make this salad, and I’ve always loved it. We used to live in the same three-family house — he married, later in life, to one of my father’s older sisters — and as a small child I’d climb up to the top apartment whenever Uncle Eli was cooking. I think he used red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice, and the sweet/tangy combination has always been one of my favorites. I started making it at home only a few years ago, and I always make w-a-a-a-a-y more than I think I need, because a lot of it goes missing (gotta keep tasting to check the balance of flavors!) before it gets to the table. My uncle also used to make a similar salad with green beans, tossing them in the dressing while they were still warm, and serving them at room temperature.

Quelle coincidence! I was going to make this tonight for some friends and as french as it is, I love to add arugula instead of parsley.
The whole undercooked/al dente thing is just very chichi, it’s like people (espec. here in germany!) who add TONS of garlic to a dish and then call it ‘gourmet’!
Great photos, great ‘marcel’!

About crumble, what about “croutu” ? at least this is a fun word :)
“un saupoudré” can be fancy, too :)

and yes, even the french have trouble with french, it can easily be seen on the frown faces of the poor children during grammar classes :) (one page for the rule, ten pages for exeptions (and there’s even exceptions to the regular exeptions :D) .

Well, what i used to tell to my students was : “A vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire” => you’ll get much pleasure and glory to succeed with such a challenge :)

laurie

July 31, 2008 9:54am

I totally agree with you on the al dente pasta, I prefer mine cooked through but not mushy, for sure.

Ah les carottes rapees… A staple in my house. I actually crave it when I go a while without it–it’s the french thing- see I didn’t leave out the “It’s”. There’s just something about those thinly shredded carottes bright orange against the deep green of the parsley. I put a little bit of garlic in my dressing and a big amount of parsley. Talking about shredded carrots, I cringe when I see the pre-made packages of shredded carrots in the store, way too thick and so dull looking. Your pictures are just lovely and spontaneous looking!

I used to bake crumbles once a year with my students and when I asked them to suggest some kind of a translation I often heard:
“ben, un crumbeul c’est un crumbeul quoi!”.
once,anyhow, I got:
“un émiettié ou un émiettage Madame” which, although l’Académie Française never ever thought of such words,I gladly and enthusiastically accepted…

as for your concordance (des temps I suppose), what was the exact problem?

Magnifique! Merçi pour la recette. I will be sure to try this out in my kitchen and, of course, sample the real deal when I’m in Paris.

Laura

July 31, 2008 2:22pm

Oh David, what memories you brought back. My favorite french cousin, Sam, taught me to make this when I was ten or eleven when I needed to bring something for international day at school (Can you just imagine?). Needless to say it was a huge success and it is still one of my favorites.

Great and summery! I will make this soon…thanks for keeping me in touch with Paris. Yesterday on Sesame Street Grover’s travels were to Paris, where ‘Sophie’ and her papa went to the farmer’s market, then the butcher, fromagerie, and boulangerie…I was devastated in an instant by how beautiful and fresh everything looked–even the bakery staff!! (Making my trip to the store look abysmal, of course…) I wanted to run off to Paris, but instead am reading your blog, David! xo!

I miss this–it and celery root salad were always on our table in Paris. Num. I found the reason for peeling, though–the carrots (at least there) had a very bitter skin on them. It was quite noticeable.

And THANK YOU for the al dente and tough, undercooked green beans thing. I thought I was the only one who hated that. Pasta should not stick to your teeth, and green beans should not leave a starchy film and make an audible crunch. If I wanted them raw, I’d eat them straight out of the garden.

I too love this salad, only at home I make it with argan oil, which I think has a mysterious affinity for carrots as well as beets.

Oakjoan

July 31, 2008 4:11pm

The celery root and carrot salads were part of the first meal I ever had in Paris. It was back in 1836, at a cafe in Montmartre. 3 of us newly-arriveds were sitting there when a large cart, full of all kinds of dishes, was wheeled up next to our table.

First we were very afraid that we’d have to pay big bucks for this. We didn’t order it, did we? In time, of course, we found that it was the trolley of apps.

All of us were very impressed.

PS: I, too, like a bit of cumin in my carrotes rappees. Since Full Belly Farm has been providing carrots for several months, we’ve had lots of carrot soup, carrot soup with red pepper puree on top, and carrot salads.

You know that famous assiette de crudite was always my favorite as a child, my mom used to always butter our radishes or make endive with beets and shallots. Carrot salad is great with some raisins too, a chef friend used to serve it with poached salmon! Glad you brought up some of the great raw vegetable memories I have of France. You stirred up my bowl, thanks David!

I made a similar grated carrot salad last year when I came upon four-colored carrots at the market. I used vinegar instead of lemon juice. When they became too vinegary the next day, I simply used the leftovers in a Vietnamese sandwich. The pickled carrots and daikon in a banh mi are basically the same thing, except julienned instead of grated.

I think you should make a carrot ice cream! Sort of like Indian halva(?) with raisins. Or maybe I will. :)

mmm yummy. There is something quite delightful about the thin, crunchy carrots and the delicate dressing. Though the version that I had was on the train to bordeaux so I am sure that your version is much tastier.

Paul.

July 31, 2008 11:49pm

When I first moved to Paris, I was lucky enough to stay with a French family while I was finding an apartment of my own. The mother of this family took it upon herself to see that I assimilated, enduring such things as my clumsy French and my American lack of civilization.

One day I was helping her prepare dinner and I coould not understand what she was asking me to do. Finally, she abandoned French (which I wasn’t getting) and frustrated English asked me to “please rape the carrots.” I’m not sure which embarassed her more: the look of horror on my face or her translation faux pas.

omg! my mom force fed me carrot for more than 12 yrs, in an attempt to improve my eyesight (failed miserably)…and now i hv carrot-phobia…well maybe unless the carrots were unrecognizably drowned in truckloads of bacon ^_^

Sandra

August 1, 2008 6:53am

I’ve had Americanized versions of this–some with raisins and honey, which was exceptionally sweet and very unexpectedly tasty. Then there are also the carrots mixed with grated cabbage, etc–cole slaw. But that’s another mixed bag or bowl if you will, and depending on how its made might or might not be as good as the carrottes rape …. And I’m sure the French probably wouldn’t be too crazy about all the mayo in that.

I am just becoming friends with a certain Romain, and am always very shy about speaking out his name, because I just know that I am not pronouncing it correctly (I don’t speak any French). So he calls you “Daveed”, how about the other way around?

For Matt: the characters on the glass are Boule et Bill. They’re from a hugely popular Belgian comic book about a little boy and his dog (a cartoon was made later, but they’re originally from a bande dessinée). And the glass is most likely a former jar of mustard: you can buy those at French grocery stores — mustard jars with cartoon/comic characters printed on them that you keep and use as juice glasses afterward.

Daveeeeeed, I love you :D I have been living in North America for more than 12 years now and still can’t stand the half-cooked green beans! Et j’adore la salade de carottes! Thanks for making me laugh (and thanks to krysalia for having given me the link to your blog (the WTF post))! (PS. Funny: in English, it’s caRRoTs, and in French, it’s caRoTTes).

just made this last night and it was SO GOOD. alas, we did not have a french juice glass with cartoon characters on it, so i am not sure if it was as amazing as yours, but i think we came pretty close.
;)
thanks for sharing the “recipe”

Maureen

August 1, 2008 7:23pm

My mother had a group of different carrot salad recipes she served. One of them she would add raisins and dressed it with a mix that started with whipped cream.

Lu

August 2, 2008 1:50pm

How have I been to Paris 4 times and have never seen nor had this salad? I’ve been looking for (yet another) reason to return. I looked at Susan’s “French Farmhouse Cookbook” and see that her recipe uses tarragon instead of parsley. So my question is: do the French not agree on the ‘herb’ of choice? I would think that the ‘estragon’ could overpower the dish.

We had this salad at La Cave de L’Os à Moelle while we were in Paris in February and it was such a great way to start off what was one of our best meals the entire trip. Thank you for posting the recipe – I think tomorrow I’m going to make this to go alongside our roasted chicken.

Lu: This is one of those homey French dishes, so I think any additions, like which herb you use, are based on what you have on hand. Tarragon would be lovely, but flat leaf parsley is widely-available in Paris, so that’s the herb of choice around here. (French tarragon isn’t as aggressive-tasting as varieties I’ve had back in the US.)

And for you and Randi, there may be more stories in the future. But don’t you all want to hear more about chocolate? ; )

Lynn D: Actually, he makes a really good Caesar Salad, and unlike some of the other versions you find around here, he keeps it simple and authentic, ie: no roasted quail, roasted peppers, canned corn, rice, etc…

Hmm, maybe that’s another post?

Elisa

August 5, 2008 1:46pm

In Estonian the tablespoon translates as soup spoon as well, guess it’s not all that rare.

Lu

August 6, 2008 6:55am

Hello again, David. I made the carottes râpées last night. Don’t tell Romain but I did add a dollop of Dijon (perfect!). Delightful, really.

Question: What did R use to grate the carrots? They look perfect. I was going to use my old-fashioned box grater, but decided to use the Cuisinart. Susan H-L, in her Farmhouse book, said the best thing to use is a Moulinex but, I don’t own one.

Thanks for the recipe idea and the answer to my question which you are about to give :)

gastronomeg

August 6, 2008 11:33am

Delicious~I made this as a side for my boyfriend’s birthday dinner last weekend & we loved it! In fact, I’m going to whip up some more today!

Gastromeg: yes, isn’t it the perfect recipe? It’s easy, you only need to have carrots around (everything else is a pantry item), and it adapts well to customization. Oh yeah, and I always feel really healthy eating it. I just hope you made your boyfriend a cake as well, and didn’t just put a candle in a pile of grated carrots! : )

MikeV

August 6, 2008 10:09pm

I have the same question that Lu asks above – what did you use to grate the carrots? I made these for dinner tonight, and my box grater gave me short, flatter pieces of carrot. It was great, and I want to make it again, but I want it to look as good as it does in your pictures!

(PS: Thank you for all the Paris information – I leaned on it heavily when I visited earlier in the year. ESPECIALLY the “Buy a Paris par Arrondisment” advice – that little map book was my best friend while I was there.)

Hi Mike and Lu: He, like most of the French folks that I know, swear by the Moulinex 3-legged julienne grater. I clicked around a bit online and didn’t see the metal ones for sale anywhere, just this plastic model, which looks similar but I can’t be sure. I don’t know where they’re available in the US, but I’ve used the fine grater attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, which works really well.

But I think if you want to be really French, you need to find a used metal Moulinex, preferably one that’s pretty battered-up from years of grating carrots, and use that. I do know where one is….but it’s already spoken for! : )

Guess what I brought here when I moved? Yep, my mother’s Moulinex metal grater for carottes rapees and we have these once a week…as well as celeri remoulade and from time to time I crave “la macedoine de legumes” which I used to loath as a child…funny what being homesick makes us do!! The pictures are so vibrant!

seagirl

August 9, 2008 10:34pm

You all got me drooling for “pretty” carrots, and a simple search on ebay pulled up the Moulinex grater that you are talking about (I think) for less than $20 brand new: French on box, english directions for use included…
Tell us more about the celery root dish?
We here in Maine love fresh celery root quickly fried tempura style.
and those thin new carrots that barely make it to the car from the Farmers Market…

Great looking salad, I’m going to introduce it to my wife, who does a similar thing with even more finely grated carrot, if that’s possible, and adds finely grated apple along with a sour cream dressing, but I think she’ll enjoy the purity of your salad. With a steak.

hélène

September 6, 2008 5:03am

he David…
coming back to an earlier question of yours : there is no French word for Crumble… we call it Crumble… only with a different accent ;-)
I was looking at French websites to find the best dressing for these carrots… but I think you description is the best !
cheers!

christina {a californian in le havre}

November 24, 2008 11:10am

Thank you for another lovely recipe. i bookmarked your site and have been lurking for some months.

my challenge… making my partners comfort foods, and this is one of his favorites!

i can’t stand to see him eat the Auchan version again, it is truly disgusting >

sam

November 27, 2008 5:20pm

Are you kidding me? Very Parisian and he would use sugar instead of Dijon? Sounds like a call to civil war to me.

Jo

January 8, 2009 10:07pm

Everything in your recipe is pretty much on the money in my memory of Mémé preparing this when I was a child – except for the lemon juice where she would use red wine vinegar, and about mixing the carrots and the dressing at the last minute… Pépé especially loved his salads ‘cooked’, that is left overnight in the dressing and savoured the next day – lettuce leaf and tomato salads too… and I have to say just the thought of those makes my mouth water. I’m off to the kitchen to (finely) grate some carrots right now!!

petitlapin66

January 13, 2009 9:09pm

The French peel the carrots because it is more beautiful this way (as they would say in English).

THANK YOU, whoever you are, David, for posting this. I lived in France for a few years and was just searching the net to find a recipe for carrottes râpées like the ones i ate in France. You’re right: you can even get them at the cheapie buffet restaus and the supermarkets. So French!

This is perfect. MERCI MILLE FOIS!

Jennie

Charlene

August 11, 2009 8:36pm

I just made this and it was very nice. My finely grated carrots were not crunchy however. Off to look for the Moulinex. Sure would like that celery root recipe! Thanks for a new way to serve carrots, even if I can’t find the Moulinex. Oh yes, thank Romain for me too. He looks like quite a catch!

alexandra

October 5, 2009 7:44pm

can you advise on how to find a good machine to grate carrots in US : which brand, store or specific machine? I have tried several and carrots end up too thick or dry and large chunks of it stay stuck in the machine….

alexandra

October 5, 2009 7:48pm

can you advise on how to find a good machine to grate carrots in US : which brand, store or specific machine? I have tried several and carrots end up too thick or dry and large chunks of it stay stuck in the machine….

alexandra

October 5, 2009 7:49pm

can you advise on how to find a good machine to grate carrots in US : which brand, store or specific machine? I have tried several and carrots end up too thick or dry and large chunks of it stay stuck in the machine….

David

October 6, 2009 2:50am

Hi Alexandra: Romain uses an old metal Moulinex, which rests on 3 legs and makes those long, relatively-thin carrot strips that are just the right size. Unfortunately they’re not available in the US, or France, anymore.

In a previous comment, above, I linked to the modern version of the Moulinex. I don’t know where they’re available in America, but you could try eBay or searching on Google shopping.

Savita

November 24, 2009 4:23am

Here in India I’ve been dreaming of carottes rapees for months. Finally got it together using a potato peeler to shred deliciously thin slices “off the bone”, used extra virgin olive oil and lemon, as you do, but as well as the parsley, stuck a tiny amount of chopped chives and a hint of soy sauce rather than salt. Yum! Thanks to that person who suggested sultanas – I knew something was missing. Better than sugar or honey.
And to the person who queried Indian halva. Yes, it is called (and transliterated as) h-a-l-v-a and it’s made of shredded carrot generously soaked in a significant amount of sugar, plus a bunch of other things, one of which – I’m guessing – is cardamon and another probably vanilla. Delicious for carrot lovers but sweet to the eyeballs.
Now where, in India, to find my other French food wish, celerie remoulade? Haven’t seen the celery root anywhere.

hawaiiwisconsin

February 14, 2010 9:15pm

Aha, when I saw that lovely salad, I knew those carrots had to be shredded using a Mouli!
My late father in law watched the mouli commercials on TV in the 70s and bought one fore each of his 5 kids, who weren’t interested. I managed to salvage two of them! For years it has been one of my most treasured kitchen tools, next to a sharp knife. You can make perfect carrots with the mouli, much better than a grater or a mandoline.
Made the salad but it’s Sunday so out of parsley and lemons. Substituted a rather limp but still green scallion, and half a lime. Salad was delicious.
Mouli-julienne can be purchased on ebay in the US.

Magda

April 26, 2010 2:33pm

I have a regular box grater….can I use that instead? And if so, which side would I use, the thicker or thinner one?

Thanks in advance.

mira

May 18, 2010 9:48pm

I am so happy you posted this recipe. I spent 7 months in Chambéry in the Alps and LIVED off of that stuff – it was so refreshing and delicious. I tried searching on the internet and hadn’t yet found a recipe that had the right combination, but this one sounds just about right! Thank you!